Container



Sept. 29, 1942. I w. A. GUEFFRIOY' 2,295,848

l CONTAINER Filed Dec. 16, 1939 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 29, 1942 commeWalter A.' Gueffroy, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to American CanCompany, New a corporation ofNew Jersey York, N. Y.,

Application December 16,1939, serial No. 869,668

' 1 claim. (ci. 2426-1) 'I'he present invention relates to containers orcans and has particular reference to a permanently deformable sectionf-or indicating spoilage of the contents in the can.

perishable products such as, for example, frozen foods when packed incans are subject to spoilage and fermentation when not constantlymaintained under proper refrigeration. Ferpressure in the can and maysometimes burst the can if not detected soon enough.

The present invention-contemplates providing a permanently deformablesection in the can which may be inflated by the internal gases offermentation to visibly indicate the condition of the product and whichwill readily show that of the can in Fig. 1, the View showing thedeformable section in an inflated condition; and

mentation of the product creates considerable such inflation has takenplace even though the section has been punctured and the gases 'haveescaped. p A

An object, therefore, of the invention is the provision of a sheet metalcan having a deformable section wherein excessive vpressure createdwithin the can will permanently expand the deformable section beyondrepair and thereby visibly indicate the condition of the contents of thecan even though the expanded section has been punctured with theconsequent escape' of the pressure.

Another object is the provision in such a can of a deformable sectionwherein a thin v panel side Wall section permanently deformable metallicdisc is secured over avent hole in a wall of the can so that internalpressures will expand and permanently f stretch the disc out `of shapeso that it will visibly-indicate the pressure condition in the can andso that it cannot be pressed down again even if it'has beenpurposelypunctured to relieve the pressure, without visibly showingvthat such afraudulent act has been practiced.

' Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent as it is better understood from the following description,which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses apreferred embodiment thereof. Referring to the drawing: Figure 1 is aside elevation of a filled can embodying the instant invention, theupper portion vof the can being broken away land shown in` section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the upper end of thecan shown in Fig. 1, the view'showing in detail the construction of thedeformable section of the can;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view'of the upper portion fOOdS.

vention the drawing illustrates a sheet metall container which isadapted to contain perishable drical body II having top and bottomclosure members I2, I3 respectively secured thereto in suitable seams I4suchas the conventional double 'seam shown in the drawing.

The top closure member I2 is formed with -a preferably circular shapedsunken panel I6. (Fig. 2) having a iiatbottom wall section I1 which ispierced with asingle vent hole I8. The bottom wall section I1 mergesinto a' surrounding I9 which extends up into These panel side walls IBare slightly curved to form an annular recess 2|. The panel I6 containsa thin circular metallic disc 22 which constitutes the deformablesection of the can. This disc is preferably made of aluminum or may bemade of any other metal which readily bends or stretches. The disc liesflat against the panel bottom wall section I1 on the the top closurewall.

outside of the can and. over the vent. hole I8.

preferably The outer edges of the disc are T 23. These hemmed asindicated by the numeral hemmed edges fit tightly within the annularrecess 2I in the panel side walls I9 and are secured in place withsolder 24 or other suitable cementing material. This disc thushermetically seals permit this inflation and is thereby permanentlydeformed beyond repair. In this inated condition the disc visiblyindicates the pressure condition within the can and the can thereuponshould be rejected.

If the inflated disc is fradulently punctured to permit escape of thegases therefrom, the disc will l nevertheless remain iny its distortedcondition. Even when pressed down flat against the can top, the onceydistorted disc will unduly wrinkle and clearly show .that suchfraudulent action has been lview similar to Fig. 3 and showing I Such alcan preferably includes a cylinsubjected to an internal pressurecondition.-

If sufficient pressure is created within the can before being noticedthe deformable disc 22 may rupture or blow out as shown in Fig. 4. Suchexcessive pressure may even break the solder hold on the hemmed edgelofthe discand cause a rupture along this edge. In any case the excesspressure will break through the metallic d isc and thereby permanentlydestroy it as well 'as visibly indicate that such a pressure conditiononce existed in the can.

It is thought that thevinvention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement o the parte withl out departing from the spirit and scopeoi' .the invention or sacriiicing all oiits material arivantages, theform hereinbeore described seing merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

A container having a deformable section for indicating spoilage oi thecontents, Winch com practiced and that the can at one time had beenprises a body member, a closure member secured to an end of said bodymember, said closure member having a substantially central sunken panelsection dened by a peripheral side wall terminating at its lower portionin an annular recess, the bottom dened by said wall being substantiallyflat, said panel section also having a centrally disposed vent holetherein, and a normally flat thin sheet metal deformable elementdisposed over said vent hole on the outside of said container in closeengagement with said sunken panel section, the outer periphery of saiddeformable element having a hemmed portion of double thickness engagingsaid annular recess and tightly soldered to the peripheral wall of saidsunken panel section, the central portion of said deformable elementbeing adapted to be pressed outwardly by pressure vapors emitted fromthe container contents through said vent hole as a resuit of spoilageand permanently deformed from its normal iiat state to visibly indicatesuch spoilage condition.

WALTER, A. GUEFFROY.,

